Deadpool (*1/2)

Deadpool comes from a place rooted in Marvel-mania and geekdom. The entire premise seems like one born from the want of fans to have it so, and in fact much of the content of the movie suggests it by winking at the camera at every possible opportunity. It has already been a massive box office success, and as of February 17^th it has nearly a 9.0 on imdb. I didn’t enter the film with high expectations (similar to my feelings about Guardians of the Galaxy) so I can’t say I was surprised to realize the film is an utter let-down.

It seems like Marvel is making a new movie every few months or so, and it seems like an easy chore for them to dish out a movie, throw in a couple recognizable characters, and watch the cash come rolling in. The wackier the story, the ‘bigger chance’ it was to make, but have they ever had a true flop? The comic book world has impregnated our psyche, whether you have read them or not. Everyone wants to be in the ‘know.’

Deadpool seems to be a response to Guardians, following an unlikely ‘superhero’ (Ryan Reynolds) as he casually jokes through a plot that would otherwise be full of immense peril. When Chris Pratt challenged the evil galaxy-ruler guy to a dance off at the climax of Guardians, it felt funny and fresh. When Deadpool stops in a battle to look at the camera and mention a joke about Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, I just sighed. There’s a self-awareness throughout the film that simply removed me from the movie. At one point, Reynolds remarks “don’t make my costume CGI” as he begins his superhero transformation (a painful reference to his Green Lantern stint). This is like a grown-up Airplane parody, where characters know they are acting and the good guy never misses his target no matter how far away he is with the gun. Most people I have talked to describe this movie as a fresh comedy. I saw it as a parody a bit too on-the-nose.

Knowing nothing about Deadpool/Wade going in, of course we had to trudge through a backstory filled with sex and jokes and throwaway characters that all culminate in the creation of his costume, stitched at home of course (red hides the blood better). We learn that though he fell in love, Deadpool was diagnosed with cancer and left the woman he loved in order to find a cure. What he found as well was a new power of rejuvenation, strength, and witty one-liners.

Let’s be honest: Ryan Reynolds is an attractive guy. Ladies love him and guys want to be him. Besides this, his role in this film just falls flat. Through narration, breaking the 4^th wall, voice-over, and cutaways, all I wanted was for him to shut up. Sometimes, a simple action scene is cool in itself without being littered with gags and humor and comedy, oh my! Playing the comedian, of course the rest of the cast (a couple of X-Men I have never heard of that were apparently the only ones available for the shoot) plays it straight, gawking at the absurdity of Deadpool’s light-heartedness and trying to convince him to just shut up and focus on the task at hand. The task at hand (defeating the villain – what else?) is a cookie-cutter plot that is as predictable as we would expect. I mentioned he is aided by some of the X-Men, so it should come as no surprise that Deadpool comments on the fact that studios couldn’t afford more recognizable actors for some quick cameos…

You can tell the filmmakers were trying to be original (an opening credits scene that is nothing but puns and in-jokes: “directed by someone who was paid too much,” “starring the sexist man in America,” etc. If that’s comedy, then I’m sorry I didn’t laugh. If the fanboys are happy with the film, then I’m sure the Marvel Studio is pleased. Perhaps in a year or two when they release Deadpool II, they can work out the kinks that weighted this film down. For a movie so highly regarded as a hip romantic comedy, boy was I bored.